


I'll get used to you... eventually.

by LilBatStories



Category: Ranma 1/2, Ranma1/2 manga
Genre: Action, Comedy, Cuddling & Snuggling, Did I mention cuddles?, I love our piggy boy, I'll take advantage of it, I'm a huge sap ok let me be, Multi, Romance, Sleepy Cuddles, Slow Burn, p-chan - Freeform, since everything in this manga tends to be a mess when it comes to ridiculous situations, this is Ryouga-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23583121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilBatStories/pseuds/LilBatStories
Summary: Ryouga had experienced first hand the most bizarre of situations through his entire life, like transforming into a cute little pig every time the cold water touches his body, being possessed by a cat, turning into a child again thanks to one effin' mushroom, etc; so he didn't think there was something that could impress him anymore. But the Tendou family always proved him wrong whenever he visited. Now, could somebody please explain to him WHAT THE HELL IS THAT CREEPY DUDE DOING SPRAWLED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LIVING ROOM?!
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. Everything changes constantly in this household.

The world was a crazy place, but this situation was beyond _surreal_.

Sure, he was prepared to see more and more people coming around given the family's hospitality previously displayed during Akane's recovery a while ago, but nothing prepared Ryouga to watch how a new face -a masked guy... Creature... Thing- was cuddling with the love of his life and her two older sisters in the middle of the living room over a futon, almost buried in a ridiculous amount of pillows.

Even if you ignored his weird-looking, monk-like traveling clothes, the quantity of piercings, anklets and -is that a body chain?!- wolf mask wrapping his entire body, you could still see there was something WAY off about this-- whatever he was. He wanted to yell and challenge the degenerate, teach that insolent some manners when treating a lady such as his Akane. But something was out of his own reach, a knowledge that nobody hadn't bothered to give to him yet.

Because the most shocking thing of it all wasn't the pampering and constant cuddles the guy received from the three sisters, nor how at ease the elder men of the household were playing (as much as it was possible between Mr. Tendo and Mr. Saotome anyways) their game next to the futon without paying them much attention. It wasn't even the fact that Ranma was trying to show interest towards a guest for once by being less of a pain in the butt and actually participating in the activity of watching a TV show with everybody else. It was rather the fact that Akane was... happy, and actually _sought_ his attention. Practically craving it. Just who was this man?

To make the situation even more insufferable, he was impotent to do anything about it because he was currently trapped in his piggy form. The family was so engrossed with their own thing that they hadn't noticed him yet, and Ryouga felt rather offended. He was supposed to be their precious pet after all!

A pet.

Akane's **pet**.

Humiliating was a light word to describe his life situation. No wonder why Ranma enjoyed mocking him, increasing the list of his many insecurities and complexes that only added more darkness in his already depressed soul.

But alas, he was just a pig to some, and a loser to all.

With his head cooled down after that dose of reality washing over him, Ryouga sat on the hallway's wooden floor to process the current situation and take a good look at the guy again. And boy, was he **_scary_** as all hell.

Even if it was quite obvious he was only a couple of years older than Ryouga, his intimidating height of 6'5" (maybe taller) dwarfed everybody in the room even while just sitting down. When serving the tea or passing the crackers, he delivered fluid and smart little movements, beautifully performed like a choreography that could fool most of the inexperienced eyes, yet a trained person knew one of those could become lethal if he wanted them to. He had broad shoulders that resembled a shield or a solid rock wall that gave introduction to an impressive back and ended in an elegant waist; most likely the result of a constant training and maybe some good genes too. It was almost certain this guy knew some form of fighting at the very least, so distance would be a much wiser solution than try and test it out... if you are smart, which is unlike the mayority of the people Ryouga was surrounded by on a daily basis.

The boy in pig form shivered full of dread. Was this a disciple of the Dojo rather than a simple friend? The toned yet slim muscles visible on his limbs said he was as flexible as a rubber band. Polite, charismatic and seemingly tame. But despite all this, there was something that scared ('my training made me taste the horrors of hell, how dare you say I'm scared, Ranma!') Ryouga to the core and it was related to his aura, and how this man could both move freely around his surroundings like a stealthy ninja and impose terror and power with his mere presence like a samurai; all while he's standing right next to you in the same room.

Meeting otherworldly creatures was definitely not in Ryouga's calendar for today's activities.

Kasumi moved to serve more tea to the heads of the families but the boy (or man?) quickly got up to do it himself, making sure the girl felt comfortable in her position before serving the tea. Kasumi just giggled and moved her head slowly, getting comfortable between her sister while she reprimanded him with fondness.   
"You shouldn't have to do that, you've traveled so much after all."

The guy waved his hand dismissively as he finished his task, chains and jewelry slightly clinking against each other with every movement. He then went back to his place among the girls only to be attacked by three sets of arms surrounding his chest with hugs again. Huh. The situation itself was so bizzare that Ryouga's brain had to check him from head to toes again to make sure he was _real_.

That's when he finally paid close attention to his face. It was curious, because even if all you could see under the mask (which was creepy by the way) and the traveling hood was his mouth, the expressions he was able to show with only his lips spoke louder than the voice he apparently didn't like to use or didn't have at all. And his eyes-- his stare could freeze you right in the spot, and you couldn't even anything else beyond a pair of little glowing dots in the black hollowness! No wonder Ranma was quiet and staying still in one place.

This person-- this being, was uncanny. Nerve-wracking.

That was the moment when, as if being called via telepathy, the guy averted his gaze from the tv to look directly at P-chan, making the piggy feel like this dude knew the little animal had been silently judging him from afar all this time. Those eyes were staring at him with great intensity, full of-- something. The poor pig felt like he was under a predator's scrutinizing glare.

They stayed like this for what felt like hours until Ranma acknowledged Ryouga's presence with a sardonic expression and a rather rude comment.

"Yo Akane, the pervy pig is here." Gee, thanks. No need for greetings anyway. The nerve of this idiot! Hopefully Akane stepped in to defend his honor and sitting Ranma's head with a pillow.

"Stop calling him that! P-chan, welcome home!" Said the girl, opening her arms in invitation.

And oh how much he wished he had some self-control, a smack of reality, anything that could make him listen to his brain instead of his stupid heart. But he loved that sweet smile that stretched her soft lips wider, those eyes that were looking at him as a precious companion, that fierce way in which she defended him against whoever dared to meddle between them (Ranma). The inexplicable joy that filled his chest whenever he felt desired by this short hairstyled beauty was too much like a drug: intoxicating, agonizing, lifted you up to the sky to taste true heaven and crashed you down afterwards. He jumped into her arms, taking a moment to appreciate the smell of her clean clothes and perfume, wondering how come someone as twisted as him is able to ever be near someone as righteous as Akane.

Guilt often consumed him to the point he ran away from the house and would not return until loneliness devoured his dry bones. He deserved it and he's aware of this fact, but that doesn't mean he has to like it. Maybe if he had friends, real friends, this toxic behavior of his would settle down a little bit.

Akane smiled at him once more and occupied herself on rubbing his tiny wiggly ears, action that had Ryouga almost squealing out the happiness it provoked in him, until he felt a chill running down his spine. **_He_** had been watching the exchange with deep interest. Ryouga acted out of pure instinct and growled at the boy sitting next to Akane, provoking a disapproving noise from the least expected person to put him in his place.

"My my, now you can't growl to family, alright little one?" The eldest sister Kasumi announced from her spot, always smiling with that sweetly maternal look of hers. What was that again? Family?

Soun Tendo made a sniffing sound that was very close to a sob when he heard the word 'family'.   
"Although I know I already said it, I'm truly happy to see you again, my son. Even if I wish you didn't go at that time, it seems it served you good. I'm very proud of the man I have in front of me today." He announced with what Ryouga supposed were emotional tears, looking at the boy sitting with his daughters around him. The mysterious person stood straighter and bowed, showing the head of the family his respect, just as happy as the rest of the family looked today.

Wait, what?!

At this point he was certain his ears were catching every word but his brain could not process the situation quite as fast. There was still a lot of things to comprehend, yet he couldn't express his frustration out loud to satisfy his need for immediate answers in his current form. He was about to throw a fit of frustrated squeals before a different voice interrupted the moment.

"Welp, I'll head out to grab some food so..." Ranma stood up and arranged his clothes, heading towards the entrance before stopping dead on his tracks. You could almost see the gears working inside his peabrain when he cleared his throat to speak next. "Odie, do you-- well, you wanna hang out and see what can we order at U-chan's? She's a childhood friend and a great cook, maybe you'd be interested?" The younger boy asked. There was still some tension in the air from Ranma's side towards this Odie (Odie? What kind of weird name is that?) guy, but the easy-going smile that was directed at him made Ranma's shoulders relax a little in relief.

And just when this dude was about to answer, he got interrupted by a triggered little sister.

"Of course you were going to take my brother with you as an excuse to eat outside, and at Ukyou's nonetheless." Akane spat at her fiancé, clearly annoyed with the offer.

"I wasn't talking to you! I wanna show him around and hang out for a while, or are you saying I'm not allowed to get near him?"

"With your lack of sensibility towards people's feelings, who knows what kind of trouble you're going to make him go through! And as I recall it, you're awful at first impressions anyways, so why trying now?"

"What did you just say you ugly tomboy?!"

"WHAT YOU JUST HEARD YOU EFFEMINATE FREAK!"

And just like that, another quarrel began.

Ryouga was honest to God so tired of Ranma provoking Akane with every little thing that came out of his mouth. If he was in Ranma's place he could make her always happy for sure, telling her how lucky he feels to be next to her instead of dismissing her opinions or hanging out with other girls just to make her jealous. While he was running this little fantasy movie in his head though, a pair of twinkling dots focused on him yet again, sending a chill down his spine.

Ryouga turned to see Odie staring down at him again like if reading every little detail crossing the the boy-turned-pig's mind. He was clearly studying this little piggy that came out of nowhere from ears to tail with an intense gaze, just like P-chan previously did. Odie must have found something interesting in the pig, because he tilted his head slightly to the side like a curious animal would. Ryouga knows he should be worried; what if he thinks P-chan is just being kept for a pork-based dish later on? Or maybe he likes to torture animals for fun? Thing is, he could only stare back in shock.

But sooner than later a warm little smile suddenly appeared in the guy's face. Ryouga could feel the sincere gesture being directed at him with the purpose of proving that he wasn't a big bad wolf like the little piggy envisioned him to be. It was puzzling to see the owner of such a sinister appearance being almost... cute. Maybe Ryouga was reading the situation the wrong way, but...

Well, he seemed to actually like animals. His giddiness to pick Ryouga up was growing more evident in his body language. The boy patiently waited for Ranma and Akane to finish their rant before tugging at Akane's sleeve, probably asking in what was most likely to be sign language if he could lift P-chan up in his arms. Akane doubted for a second.

"Sure. He is a little... not fond of Ranma at all, but I can't really blame him. I don't know if he'll be fine with you so be careful, okay?" She smiled as she gave her pet to Odie, and Ryouga felt like screaming for help. Being handled by another man was a big no-no in his book. Also, this one seemed like he wanted to pet every part of his piggy body as soon as he got a grip on him (not intended to take it in the sexual sense, mind you). He looked up at Ranma, his last source of help, but the latter simply smirked and said: "stop overreacting."

He was doomed.

But, to his surprise, it wasn't what he expected at all. This guy's hands were huge, so he could fit P-chan in one of them perfectly if he wanted to. Instead, he cradled the piggy in his arms as if he was made of glass. Only then he started petting the top of his head, nothing more. The smell impregnated in his shirt and the heat radiating from his body made Ryouga fall in a trance of absolute bliss, looking up to the man and realizing that someone who loved animals this much couldn't be a bad person, so he relaxed a bit more in his arms, wagging his piggy tail after Odie scratched certain spot behind his ear. The guy smiled a little wider, thrilled to see how the pig wasn't really scared of him anymore.

Strangely enough, Ryouga didn't really acknowledge the coos around the table nor the amount of time he spent in his arms while the others kept talking until Kasumi announced she needed to visit the market for some grocery shopping. Only then Odie stopped the petting and offered to accompany her, an offer she gladly accepted. Carefully, oh so carefully, he handed the pig back to his "owner" and stood up to help Kasumi with her shopping bag, only to provoke a new quarrel between the two teens who hadn't quite settled things down yet.

"See?! Now he doesn't want to stay anymore!"

"How is that even my fault? You started it!"

"Would you two just quit it for a second already? My head is starting to hurt again." Nabiki Tendou grimaced in annoyance.

"I agree. Our brother just came home after travelling a very long distance, so you should mind your bantering a little more from now on." Kasumi added. You knew something was getting out of control when both Tendou's elder daughters meddled in.

Odie made yet another calming little gesture as if to settle things down, and much to Ryouga's dismay, he used sign language to express himself again. This unknown form of communication apparently beat both him and the other boy in the room if Ranma's confused face was anything to go by. The hand gestures were delivered with the authority of someone who knew their way around a pair of rowdy teens, yet his movements weren't aggressive at all; they had this palpable fondness in every word, almost like if you could hear them speak near your ear in a whisper.

Akane's face turned into an angry shade of red as she read his words. "Ugh, fine. Ranma, Odie asks if it's possible to go to 'Your Friend's place' tomorrow for lunch, because he wants to help Kasumi with dinner today."

"You don't have to," Kasumi insisted, "after all, cooking is a woman's duty. I'm used to do it by myself." The man then snorted at the comment and made a head movement that resembled an eye-roll. He Clearly didn't believe cooking was a women-only task and was eager to help. How curious.

Odie took out a little notebook and wrote something that he then gave to Ranma, probably trying to use his own words in a way instead of his sisters'. The pig could only get a little glance and it was about 'wanting to spend his first day back with the whole family' or something between those lines. Ranma understood and gave an awkward comment about it.

"I mean yeah, sure it-- was, dumb of me to ask since-- you know, after you just came back." Akane couldn't roll her eyes any further or they could pop out of her skull. Honestly? Same. It was obvious he would want to stay with the family first before going to a stranger's place. But he still promised to tag along tomorrow, making Ranma feel better about the decline from his possible brother-in-law. Ryouga, on the other hand, was pretty sure that was the source of Akane's foul mood. Speaking of which, She groaned and turned around towards the stairs.

"Whatever, you can do what you want anyways, like leaving us behind and then coming back after almost 14 years like if nothing ever happened. Not like anyone would say anything about it, of course. So go on, go and hang out with Ranma instead of your own blood, see if I care. How typical of you."

"Akane!" Kasumi reprimanded severely. Even her own father lifted his gaze up to look at the situation.

The Odie guy phisically winced at the low blow and tried to explain something to her but Akane didn't give him a second chance, standing up and leaving the room as fast as she could with her piggy following behind. Her father's callings could be heard all the way to the second story until it was canceled by the shutting door. She looked so frustrated, so confused by the many emotions she was feeling right now, and all Ryouga could do was sit by her side to cuddle her neck and wait until she cooled down.

After what felt like ages, her shoulders finally sagged in defeat, looking outside the window. He realized that she was more honest to herself when she felt 'nobody' was around to hear her words. "I'm so mad that things couldn't keep on being the same as they used to be..." A pause, "That I conveniently forgot all he had to go through." She confessed from the bottom of her heart. P-chan squealed sadly, trying to bring any of his noises to sound any similar to "I'm sorry you feel that way".

A knock on her door startled both of them as her father made his presence known from outside her room with Ranma behind, who stood outside and opted to lean on the doorframe instead. She tried to put up a front the best she could, sitting on the edge of the bed with her arms crossed. Mr. Tendou settled on her bed next to her and nobody spoke for a couple of minutes.

"I'm sorry," Ranma confessed in a somewhat sincere tone, effectively breaking the awkward silence. "I didn't know... I didn't mean to take him away from y'all, I just-" The apology took Ryouga by surprise, but Akane merely raised her hand to stop him using that oh-so-known facade she wore when he was near.

"Stop it, you're creeping me out." She looked away. "But I get it... I--... Cannot expect him to stay all day at home, and greet me every time like Kasumi does. He-- he has other things to worry about."

Soun made an agreeing sound while contemplating the sky outside Akane's window. "Your mother and I always wanted to make this family a safe space for our children to feel loved, and that applied to your brother too when he came into our lives. But sometimes our paths are forced to take different directions from what we intended them to go."

Akane nodded slowly. These circumstances were beyond abnormal even for a family like this one, so what could have happened to Odie when he was a kid? Thankfully Ranma was insensible enough to dare and ask the exact same thing.

"Mr. Tendo, sir, I know I may be crossing multiple boundaries here, but..." Ranma paused, inhaling deep as if courage could be catched out of the air and get into his veins. "... Why didn't I ever hear about your son? If he's here, why do we still have to get married?" It was a fair question, given the fact that the son would always inherit the family's name and prestige to represent them. It would also mean that Ryouga had way more chances to win Akane over now that the marriage wasn't necessary.

Akane's father stayed quiet for a moment, thinking what should he say next.

"That may be true, but there's more of this story that you don't know of, Ranma." Soun confessed, looking back at Akane who huffed lightly before gesturing his father to continue. "You see, ever since he was born, nature has loved my son as much as he loves nature. If he wasn't studying then he would always play into the forest closest to the park, making new animal friends. A very sharp minded boy indeed, if not a little unusual as well." Soun chuckled while remembering some of the things Odie did. "With his mental and physical capabilities, he trained everyday behind my back out of mere curiosity to see how far his body could go before it suffered an irreversible damage. Turns out, it never did." Mr. Tendou sighed. "And of course, that attracted lots of attention."

Ranma frowned. P-chan moved his ears as if trying to process the information, not being able to understand how a child was capable of exerting his body like that without suffering any kind of repercussions later on. Yet he was now starting to understand what Soun meant with the attention part, and apparently so did Ranma. Akane's face had a gloomed tone in it, probably because she knew what part of the story was coming next.

"One day, the leader of a very important tribe of warriors and a good friend of mine saw his potential and his righteous soul, so he asked me if he could train my little boy. That's how Odie officially became a Guardian of the Western Mountains under that man's tutelage."

"A what?!"

Both Ranma and Ryouga couldn't believe what they were hearing. The Guardians of the Western Mountains were a tribe of warriors that were believed to be extinct, but their insane amount of agility and strength transcended through various cultures' myths about them. Obviously there's a lot of mysteries and unknown information about this tribe, reason why the Guardians were still considered deities of the martial and meditating arts; pioneers of innovative combat techniques and experts in balancing sharp attacks with soft moves. Sheer power using flexibility in equal proportions. Lethal when they wanted to be and naturally gentle towards every living thing.

A true contradiction at its more pure state.

There's hasn't been an official register of people ever having a close encounter with one of them, but Ryouga now understood it wasn't because they didn't really exist.

"So that explains it." Ranma pondered seriously. The clothes, the amount of jewelry, the posture, the calculating movements, the piercing look, even the moves. Everything.

"Their society is based in the anonymity and a very small group of selected people to be trained," Mr. Tendo explained, "so if I tell you this it's because I have complete trust that you're family, and won't reveal any of this to anybody, even if your life depends on it." Soun said pointedly. Ranma nodded solemnly and stared down at P-chan, who also nodded in determination. He wasn't about to spill the beans about one of the greatest secrets of society out of pure malice!

Soun kept talking with a heavy tone, carefully measuring his words.   
"He was selected to learn the secrets kept within their culture, and so, he had to leave us to finish his various studies and trainings. That's as much as I can tell you about it, I'm afraid." Soun replied. Akane obviously knew what her father meant and the situation his brother went through, but her silent agreement with her dad made clear that she wasn't going to tell anything else either. The head of the Tendou's cleared his throat, however, to continue with his explanation.

"Due to this particular situation, he had to give up the Dojo's inheritance permanently and had to leave his own family behind during his time spent with them. He brought prestige to our name with a high cost to pay."

Ranma nodded slowly. Of course he desperately wanted to know what that special training was all about, but now the respect he had for this masked guy increased as much as his sympathy for the rest of the family members. Although there was a lot of rough edges between each other, Ryouga knew a lot about Ranma's life and how his mother didn't take it too well when both he and his father disappeared to keep on their training. So Ryouga could picture his rival understanding this guy's situation.

Soun directed his body towards his daughter and took her hands between his'.   
"My dear Akane, losing the privilege of continuing with the family legacy is hard enough. But now that he's finally able to come home he has to deal with the fact that everything and everyone moved on without him, and thanks to this reality his little sister will get married soon with a complete stranger to keep on with the duties he wasn't able to protect, all in the blink of an eye."

Akane nodded. "I actually never thought... how hard it was for him as well. How much he's had to work to get where he is today and make you proud, father."

Ryouga felt like he was intruding in some extremely private affair, but being now aware of the existence of the most important tribe that influenced the martial art was something that kept him pinned in place as he waited for the man to finish what he started telling them.

Soun sighed like if the weight of it all were crushing his soul. "My dear child, as your brother, Odie has always been very protective of all of you, even of Kasumi who is older than himself. He always did it like it was the greatest of privileges, although he knew he couldn't be the next dojo master anymore. So I hope you can at least try to imagine how watching him adjust to the new changes and interact with both Ranma and Genma is truly a huge step and a one of a kind sight. He's maintaining the peace in our house."

Ryouga looked up to see how Ranma was taking all of this. The boy looked deep in thought the more he listened to Soun explaining, like he was realizing what his future brother-in-law was really sacrificing in order to maintain the family he hadn't been part of in a long time together. It seemed realization suddenly hit Ranma like a brick. 

"Do you really think we could get along one day?" Ranma asked in a whisper, almost like a shy five year old would, anguished with the answer.

Soun turned to him fully and answered sincerely.  
"Sometimes my own son is a living mystery to me. I cannot say what will happen between him and you from now on, but I do know he's willing to give you a chance. This morning he told me you're a lot like Akane and a little pretentious too, maybe a tad constipated when it comes to communicating feelings" Soun pondered in Odie's words "but saw your great potential as a result of the hard trainings, and approves of that kind of diligence."

Ranma went red all over his face but stood taller than usual, clearly honored with the compliment. And isn't that just great, because now his ego would go flying above the roof and neither Ryouga nor anybody else needed that at all.   
"I promise I'll do my best to improve, sir. Your son has nothing to worry about."

Akane huffed a short laugh moving her head, clearly feeling better than before. "Just, let it happen naturally. You'll see that befriending my brother is way easier than it seems if you open up to him."

"I hope so. He feels so... Out of reach. Like he's this amazing, cool dude and you feel the need to impress him somehow. And now that I know he's a Legendary Guardian I-- ugh, I feel nervous already."

Soun laughed wholeheartedly at the, extremely rare to see, cuteness of the statement and stood up, clapping Ranma's back as he was holding his daughter's hand and the three of them were heading back downstairs." My boy, Odie values true friends and his family very much, and would do anything for them. That's why he was interested in becoming a Guardian in the first place. If you can show him you truly feel the same way, you'll have an oversized puppy-friend your whole life."

Ranma was dazed with the discovery but smiled nonetheless. Point for the brother, the little piggy guesses. It seems he's much of a better guy than Ryouga had expected. Would it be the same for him if he had grown up surrounded by sisters? Women always seemed to have a hidden wisdom that transformed men into something more empathetic, protective and loving besides their already blunt, competitive, hot-headed selves.   
  
"Honestly, I wish I was as cool as my brother and accept everything with the same maturity." Akane lamented. Ranma coughed and gingerly stepped close to her, giving her shoulder a soft shove with his own.

"Well, in my opinion you're immature and a complete tomboy who lacks of woman charm and tends to make things worse with your temper," he stated, "but you're his sister," Ranma replied reverently before she could even refute, "and that won't ever change. He is quite a role model of a dude, but... in the end we did what we do best," Akane looked down to P-chan. "and he got caught in the middle of our stupid fights."

Akane stuck out her tongue to him before looking at the stairs. She waited two seconds before marching towards them and deciding to go back downstairs. Ryouga doubted for maybe the first time ever to follow her. This whole ordeal was so intimate, full of emotions he has not experimented before. In the end he stayed close to Ranma, who didn't comment a word about it as he walked slowly, neither boy wanting to meddle in this situation.

They did, however, sit at the top of the stairs to listen.

Akane seemed to have arrived to the living room where she was calling out to his brother with no answer coming back. She turned to her sister Nabiki who was, most likely, waiting for her to ask.

"Nabiki, where's Odie?"

"Dunno, maybe 3000 yen would make my brain remember." Of course.

"Seriously Nabiki, I've got no time for this." Akane said exasperated.

"Out. He said he was going shopping with Kasumi and make dinner himself." The big sister finally revealed. Then a pause. Ryouga guessed there was an intense duel of stares during that interlude. "You should apologize once he's back, you had no right to explode like that in his face after all these years."

Akane stood there thinking for a moment. "I know."

"Do you, now?"

"I plan to apologize somehow so stop patronizing me." The younger girl retaliated. Suddenly a gasp escaped her mouth and made her run to the top of the stairs where the boy and the pig were waiting, Soun behind them with his back pressed against the wall. She clung herself on Ranma's arm and bounced insistingly in place. "Ranma! Help me make a non-bake cheesecake! Oh please please please, say yes!" She implored him. Ranma flushed red at the uncommon behavior, suddenly at a loss of words.

"C-cheesecake? But-- why, I mean I don't even know how-"   
"I suck at cooking, and that's Odie's favorite dessert" Akane said sincerely, surprising everyone in the house. "I want to apologize, I want you to be his friend, I want him to know this is still his family regardless of the new members, I want him to feel loved." Akane declared with determination, emotion clearly escaping her mouth with ever cracked word.

Ranma sighed, pinching his nose before considering it." I guess I can help if you got the recipe for it. You wanna do it before they come back?"

"Yes! Oh wait, I think mom's cookbook has the whole step by step and the ingredients in it. Let me get it real quick!" She announced, running back to her room. Ranma stared in confusion but sighed in content. At least things between them cooled down, and Ryouga didn't know if he should be relieved or worried. Soun smiled and excused himself, going back to the living room where his newspaper was.

"You're awfully calm today, Ryouga." The boy commented casually. The pig looked up and stared at him, not reacting during a couple of seconds. "I take that as a promise of keeping the secret to yourself then." Ranma said. Ryouga nodded firmly, although that didn't mean he wouldn't try to learn what this whole secret training was about. What kind of amazing techniques and abilities had the guy learned all this time?

"Maybe now that we're 'family' or whatever he will teach me his secret techniques." Ranma pondered. Ryouga snorted as if saying 'yeah right, he can barely tolerate you at the moment.'

"Ha! Don't give me that, I know you want to learn them as much as I do." To what the pig replied with an unamused stare.

"And exactly how are YOU going to learn, mister? If I can't do it then how could you?"

Ryouga sat on his two back legs and flayed his front legs all over himself. With his current piggy form he could perfectly sneak in between his trainings to see what was he doing; it was the only advantage he found of being a pig besides being able to stay close to Akane.

"You little- wait, he doesn't know about my transformation yet." Ranma realized. Well, that was another thing he would have to figure out on his own. "Anyways, something tells me that trying to take advantage of his training will only make him be more wary of me. Maybe I should really befriend him first."

The pig nodded and wondered if he could befriend him as well outside of his pig form.

Putting everything he had learned about this guy out in the light, he meditated about how hard it must have been to take care of three sisters while holding the responsibility of a Dojo Name on his shoulders, just to come home after who knows how many years only to find out that a random dude and his dad were going to bear that privilege instead by marrying his littlest sister. Yes, Ryouga himself trained until his bones broke every day, but he trained and traveled because he wanted to. Odie on the other hand HAD TO in order to reach everyone's expectations. That harsh reality made him grow into the living paradox he seems to be today; threatening as well as sweet, mature but still a teen. And what about Ryouga? He just wallowed in self pity, and a stupid childhood rivalry is his fuel to keep him going everyday. What will happen when one of the two wins? What will be of him?

Akane came back with a shopping bag, a paper with a list written on it and her little purse. She had changed her clothes and was now wearing a cute summer dress that accentuated her waist along with a summer hat that looked good on her. She was so enthusiastic about the whole thing she could barely hide her smile.

The sight stunned both him and Ranma, not able to say anything for a couple of seconds before Ranma returned to his douchie self and cleared his throat.

"Ahem, just so you know this isn't a date, so there was no need to change your clothes like that."

"Who said it was a date? Besides, I dress up for myself, and today is special so" Akane spat with a little blush on her cheeks. She was * _so_ * precious. "Anyways we need to head out right now if we want to finish it before they come back. Kasumi takes her sweet time picking every ingredient so I think we can do it. Let's hurry, P-chan!" She declared, taking the piggy in her arms and hurrying down the stairs with Ranma behind her. "Father we'll come back soon!"

"Ranma, take good care of her!" Soun yelled from behind his newspaper, knowing what his baby girl was going to do. And with that, they headed to the marketplace downtown.

* * *

This place was always crowded with people shopping at all times; the kids were happily running around begging their parents to buy them a treat, the couples were walking around finding a nice restaurant to have a date in (lucky them) and the delicious smells invaded the narrow streets. Everything looked so appealing and colorful it was easy to get distracted (lost) in here. In fact, the place was so crowded that Akane and Ranma had to push their way through the people around them. Better not falling off of the bag he was in, then.

"Here, grab my bag and make sure none of my siblings are around, although it's almost impossible to fool my brother on that." Akane instructed as she was selecting the ingredients.

Ryouga was oddly fascinated while he watched those petite hands weight and compare every ingredient before putting them inside the bag. She could be so gentle and protective, probably something that she and Odie had in common.

"Alright but, why do I have to hold onto your bag for?" Ranma questioned.

"You tend to get yourself into a lot of trouble when being by your own so it's better if we don't stay far from each other. Besides, you can watch out if anybody wants to get their hands into my things." Akane simply answered, obviously more preoccupied with her task. Ranma groaned, but besides that he stayed put and did what was he was told to. He couldn't deny the statement was totally true.

They went on like this from store to store during a while until they reached an old lady's stand.

"Oh my! Good afternoon Akane. It's been a while since I last saw you around this place."

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Aoyama. Sorry about that, but Kasumi is the one that does the grocery shopping most frequently." Akane smiles sweetly. "I need four portions of cream cheese and two lemons, please."

"Sure thing, darling." The lady said, bringing the requested ingredients. "Speaking of which, I just saw Kasumi walking around the market with a very tall man. He looked intimidating at first with that mask but his warm smile gave him away as a big softy. He was very good looking and probably a foreigner. You don't happen to know him, now do you?"

"I do, in fact you know him as well." Akane replied with a little giggle.

The woman turned to her to give her the money change. "Do I? Oh, but what will it be of poor Dr. Tofu when he finds out Kasumi is dating another man?" She lamented.

"It's not her date, it's my older brother."

"Your... Oh! Oh my, don't tell me- did he finish his studies already?"

"Yes ma'am! He came back this morning and Ranma and I are going to prepare something special for him." Akane announced proudly.

"That is wonderful, my dear! Its great to see he's back. You must be so happy, he's grown so tall and looks so mature! How old is he now?"

Akane seemed to preen under the lady's praises like if they were for her. "He's about to turn 20 years old, Mrs. Aoyama, but he's still a big puppy at heart. Excuse me, but we're running out of time and we have to be home before they get back."

"Of course, of course." The woman said sweetly, offering a piece of cucumber to the piggy. Ryouga took it gladly and are it right away, squealing in delight. Apparently the scene was so funny that even Ranma chuckled at the sight. He liked cucumbers a little too much, okay? Sue him. "It was nice to see you again, children. Have a safe trip back home!" the woman waved.

"Thank you, granny!" Ranma said as they were walking away. Since those were the last ingredients, the trip ended soon enough and they were heading back to the Tendou's residence.

Being completely honest, the afternoon was going pretty smooth and even enjoyable so far. The whole ambiance had a calm aura with Akane's soft smile, Ranma's lack of teasing and Ryouga's relaxed demeanor even when Ranma took pity of him for being tucked in the shopping bag and lifted him on top of his shoulder to let him rest there.

"Thank you for helping me with this, Ranma. It really... means a lot." Akane admitted shyly. Ranma nodded like if trying to play hard to get but her sincere eyes cracked through his act immediately.

"Sure, no problem. I've only seen him half a day but, I can already tell you girls are his highlight." He relaxed his neck before putting his free hand into his pocket. "Being honest, I don't know how he can put up with three pair of hands squishing his entire face for that long."

The girl laughed a little embarrassed. "And it was worse when we were kids." She assured.

"How bad?" Ranma asked.

They made casual conversation here and there, talking about Akane's childhood when they used to get into lots of troubles, about how Ranma would have liked to have a big brother, about how annoying Kuno and Kodachi were, and so on. Ryouga wasn't even mad that Ranma and Akane were getting along, he just payed attention to the talk and observed the sky slowly changing into an orange hue. There simply wasn't room to feel bad about anything at the moment. The little pig felt like he could give himself the chance to sigh in relief, to what Ramna replied "Same, buddy." and it threw the three of them into a fit of giggles.

So this is how it feels to have normal friends? No insults, no fights, no jealousy nor revenge. Just teens being silly and learning more about each other like it should be.

Ryouga could get used to this.

But, as always, something that dwelled in the most secluded zone of the universe liked to ruin their happy moments and watch the world burn, because the next thing he knew he was being tossed towards Akane's arms to protect both of them from Shampoo's attack.

"A-ha! Shampoo caught you two on a date at the market!" The indigo-haired girl said accusingly from her perch on a street light.

"Great, I knew something like this would happen. I can never have a normal day." Said Akane, starting to tense up in annoyance.

"Shampoo? Hey, it's not a date! We're actually in a bit of a hurry to get home, so you better leave already." Ranma demanded, but of course Shampoo wasn't listening to his weak excuse anymore.

"Then what are you doing?" the girl interrogated.

"We have a new guest in our house and we needed more food for tonight's dinner, that's all!" Akane defended, clearly she didn't want Shampoo to know about her brother yet, and Ryouga understood why it would make things worse to let her know about him.

"Shampoo don't believe it!" Pouted the long-haired pest.

"She's telling the truth, Shampoo. We'll be late to prepare the table and it'll be your fault so better step out!" Ranma tried again. (Seriously though, couldn't the guy have a bit more of a spine and be firmer instead of letting women have it their way with everything he said?)

"Ranma is defending ugly Akane? Then Shampoo will destroy Akane!" she declared. The Chinese girl leapt with her weapons ready to hurt Akane, but Ryouga jumped into action and blocked her vision with his belly pressed against her face, holding tightly to it.

"P-chan!" Akane yelled in concern. They struggled for a bit and when Shampoo managed to detach him from her face Ranma and Akane had already left.

"Ugh! Stupid piggy, of all the Jusenkyou creatures you be the most pathetic of them all. Outta my way!" Then she proceeded to throw him away like if he was trash. Fortunately the physical pain from that action wasn't nearly as hurtful as the emotional one, so he quickly stood up and got into an Onsen near by to put an end to this.

In the end he had to steal a jukata and run away once he turned back into his human form, but he had no time to lose. Shampoo was going to ruin everything Akane has been planning if he didn't stop her and so help him if she actually did. Akane didn't deserve to have a ruined day after his brother just came back from another country.

He sped up through the entire neighborhood searching for Shampoo (oh God, please don't let him run in the opposite direction AGAIN) when finally he saw her running towards Ranma and Akane, who were already trying to get rid of the Amazonian girl without engaging into an actual fight. He usted all his leg muscles to catch up to them in time and pinned her down. "Quick!" Ryouga yelled, "I'll hold her back but I'm not sure how long I'll succeed!"

"But you won't know how to get back!" Ranma protested.

Ryouga received a punch in the face but still managed to keep her down. "Just MOVE!"

"Roger that!" Ranma said, saluting him with what looked like a grateful expression (was Ranma really capable of doing such a thing?) and took Akane in his arms, jumping from roof to roof as a shortcut. Ryouga felt a pang of jealousy but now there wasn't any time for that because the Amazonian looked like she was truly going to skin him alive.

"Don't touch!" She yelled while struggling to break free. "Shampoo must stop them, step away!"

"Shampoo sHUT THE HELL UP AND LET ME EXPLAIN!" Ryouga yelled at the top of his lungs, feeling how the stares of everyone in the street were on them. Surprisingly enough, Shampoo listened and stopped thrashing for a moment. "You think I would defend Ranma while he's taking my Akane away without a good reason?! Just-- calm down, ok? Let me tell you what is happening today."

The girl still looked like she wanted to skin him alive, but allowed him to help her up and both sat on a park bench. Ryouga kept the main details hidden from her, but modified the story a bit and told her about Odie's visit, about how he was a good friend of the family and how the teens were told to prepare something for him as a welcome gift. Shampoo wasn't happy with the whole thing but understood what he was saying.

"Fine, Shampoo will forgive this one time." The boy sighed in relief after hearing that.

"Thank you so much. To be honest, you wouldn't really like to mess with that guy."

"Strong?"

"Very much so."

"How piggy know?"

The boy sighed again, but this time a little exasperated. "My name is Ryouga. And I know because I was with the Tendous when he arrived. It's-- I don't even know how to describe it to you."

"Shampoo bet she can take him down." She said determined.

Was she not listening to him anymore? She was so infuriating!

"No Shampoo, you don't understand. Not even Ranma wants to mess with him. I swear this dude is as tall as a tree and his body is built to demolish rockwalls; his movements are powerful, precise to the extreme. His aura is otherworldly and out of anything I've ever sensed before, I'm telling you he cannot be messed with if you value your life. Then again..."

Then again, he has only been near him for a couple of hours, so it was very harsh of him to judge Odie like that. And he had seen how much he cares for his sisters, acting as a protecting blanket for them and even letting them baby him as much as the girls want. He's also respectful towards his father, and is incredibly gentle with small creatures like his piggy form. Those dexterous hands that were trained to destroy and annihilate the enemy could also show protection and love. He was a Guardian trained to value every single life in this universe and balance this into every fight. He was scary, but not a bad person.

"Hello? Earth to Piggy?" Shampoo called, waving a hand in front of him. Ryouga snapped out if his thoughts and tried to imitate the big guy, smiling at Shampoo slightly before standing up again. "it's getting dark. You should head back before your granny gets worried."

"Piggy not Shampoo's boss!" She stuck her tounge out and marched away. Geez, she could be a handful of a woman and Ryouga felt pity for Mousse all of the sudden.

Just when he was about to decide where to go and spend the night (because he was positive he wasn't going to find the Tendou's residence for a couple of days) he heard Shampoo squeak in a mix of surprise and fear. Then he felt a hand falling on his shoulder with a voice calling,

"Ryouga?"


	2. Why do you hate me all of the sudden?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryouga does whatever it takes to keep Akane happy, even lying.  
> His training begins!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even if I like stories full of suspense, thriller and action, I also like stories full of fluff and "aww" moments, so expect more of those in the following chapters!

Ryouga turned around to see what was going on behind him, and was greeted with the sight of Kasumi's gentle features first. That didn't surprise him as much as what he saw behind her, which was a very dumbfounded Shampoo on the ground, possibly a result of collapsing face first into the living sculpture (just as detailed and well-crafted) that was Odie. Said individual was just as confused as Ryouga was with the whole ordeal, but waisted no time in lending a hand to help her up.

Shampoo eyed it for a second before swatting it away, quickly standing up before yelling something in Chinese at the top of her lungs. "What the... -" The boy could only watch as the Amazonian ran away as if she was being chased with boiling water. That had to be one of a kind sight to witness for sure.

"Oh dear, was she ok?" Kasumi wondered mildly concerned. "Well Ryouga, I see you enjoyed the new Onsen not far from here, right? I take it you just arrived from another one of your trips."

Crap, what was he gonna say now? He was not really the type to resort to lies, preferring either not answering or telling people to mind their own business instead. _'Alright Ryouga don't panic now, drastic measures for drastic situations. Just follow her story and you'll be fine.'_ "I-- err... I just arrived, yeah! But right now I lost my bag and was-- um, convincimg Shampoo to help me find it. It seems I... got kinda lost again." Ryouga said. Thankfully him getting lost was not an uncommon thing to happen so it should be believable enough.

"If that's the case, then you know you're welcome in our home anytime." The older girl reassured without a second thought. Ryouga sighed in relief and laughed nervously, trying to tie his yukata a little tighter. He really should have picked a smaller one before making a run for it." Have you seen Ranma and Akane already? They'll sure be happy to meet up with you again. I heard Ranma say something about learning a new trick so I thought you'd like to spar with him sometime."

Ryouga started fidgeting with his entire body, thing that drew the other male's attention. "Ah-- N-no, haven't seen them at all! I was busy with..." He sneaked a glance at Odie for a millisecond before going back to his made-up story, "things. But I'll stop by to say hello, if that's Ok with you?"

The older boy behind Kasumi saw this and tensed a fraction.

"Why of course!" The girl answered cheerfully before remembering she wasn't shopping alone. "Oh, I'm sorry. You haven't met my brother Odie yet, right? He just came from a different country after finishing his final exams, but he's going to stay with us from now on. Odie, this is Ryouga, one of Ranma and Akane's friends. He also practices martial arts and even stayed at our place for a short time during his Furinkan High School admission exams. It's a pity it didn't work out for you, really."

Ryouga bowed and was about to greet him like if they had never seen each other before when he * _felt_ * it. He looked up into Odie's eyes and that was probably the worst mistake of his entire life (which was saying a lot). There, in the emptiness of the mask's dark sockets, were two little dots shinning with a don't-like-you-at-all glow that were drilling holes into his skull. Oh no. Nonononono, what did he do to get into this dude's bad side?! Could it be that Odie misinterpreted the situation with Shampoo a moment ago? Or was it the fact that Ryouga was wearing not so very appropriate clothes in front of his sister? Maybe he was trying to get him away from Kasumi? He was so confused!

"Uh... hi?" Ryouga tried, but Odie simply turned his back to him rather rudely, taking Kasumi back into the market area. Ryouga felt how his skin bristled in anger, genuinely shocked by this guy's behavior towards an absolute stranger after seeing him so relaxed and tamed just an hour ago.

"Hey! And what the hell's wrong with you?!" Ryouga yelled, stepping right in front of them to make the insolent look at him but completely forgetting WHO was he messing with. "Didn't you learn you shouldn't turn your back to your opponent? You won't walk out on me that easy--"

Wrong choice of words.

**_It hunts at night._ **

In less than a heartbeat, his knees hit the ground while both arms were trapped behind his back under a huge clawed - _clawed?!_ \- hand that could easily snap them out of place. The knee on his back, barely adding any serious weight, was touching a pressure point with perfect accuracy, producing an uncomfortable pain he had never experienced. Being defeated before even starting would be really humiliating if not for the momentary horror he was experiencing. The body imprisoning him didn't _feel_ human. 

"Ryouga please stop, you're provoking him!" Kasumi alerted.

The heavy aura that emanated from the other male's body was acting like a shield, used as a suffocating weapon to defend his sister and keep Ryouga at bay. What kind of manic power did you need to produce such a monstrosity?

"I'm-- I'm the one-- w-who has to stop--?" the boy panted, "L-look what he's doing to me!" Dammit, he couldn't breath properly without feeling like the air was being knocked right out of his body. The older boy looked directly at his sister, not worried about the other wheezing in pain under his grip as he talked to Kasumi.

She payed attention to his hand (can't you see the claws or you just don't care?!) as he was forming sentences with it, nodding slightly. "Oh!" Kasumi said, completely forgetting about Ryouga for a second. C'mon, he's not a bubblegum under everybody's shoe, hurry up and convince this beast to release him! "My, this is really curious indeed. My brother says you're lying to us." The gentle woman said, questioning him with a stare. The man next to her made a sound very close to a growl, applying more pressure while staring down at his P ~~rey? Catch? Meal?~~ victim accusingly.

"W-what?! I'm not-- what could I-- *coughs* --be hiding to provoke him-- ugh!" This whole situation was so confusing he was starting to wish he could stop breathing altogether.

"Well that is true." She reasoned, looking back up to her brother. After a couple of seconds, Kasumi spoke again. "He says your behavior is a little too suspicious for his liking," Are you kidding? "and wants you as far away from us as possible, unless you tell us what is it that you're hiding." The older girl said, a little amused at her brother's display of overprotection. "I'm sorry Ryouga, but there's little to nothing that can escape my brother's observation skills." Ryouga's eyes widen like plates before looking back at his opponent, who taps twice on his wolf mask's nose. His _smell_. Or rather, Akane and Ranma's smell mixed with his'. Oh God, oh no, he had a supernose as well?? Dear Lord, please spare him from dying today, or else he'll pass away as the liar who tried to outsmart the ~~creature~~ person who could have been his brother-in-law. Did that mean that he could also... could also find out about P-chan then?!

"But Odie, I think there's no need to be so harsh on him. After all, Ryouga has always been a very polite and considerate boy." Kasumi reasoned, effectively coaxing her brother after a few seconds to set Ryouga free. The protective aura calmed down enough to let the boy underneath him realize it wasn't an aggressive power, but rather an intense display of it to assert dominance or something among those lines. The relief of being out of his boundaries granted him a few seconds to regain his breath; sadly it only lasted a moment before his knees started stinging.

Ah, they're bleeding.

He hadn't scraped his knees in a long time. It just happened when he was a kid and would always try to tough it up in from of his mother, but after she hugged him to make the pain disappear he would brake, crying his heart out until his father brought a candy to cheer him up.

_'It was nice; having someone to lean on like that when you felt weak.'_

A shadow gloomed over him. Ryouga looked up at its owner who was eyeing him critically, daring him to try and make a wrong move again. Odie waited for an explanation, but he couldn't bring himself to say it and ruin Akane's attempts to apologize with a surprise. 

Ryouga looked down in shame. "I... I can't."

He tried to look back up again. The message with that cold stare was clear: Odie didn't want a foul liar that cannot be trusted lurking around his sister or any of the Tendous. Of course, how could this guy trust him? Ryouga made himself seem very suspicious with his vage answers and uncomfortable body language. Plus, he knew he had so many opportunities to take advantage of Akane in his position as a friend (but mostly as her pet) and Odie could probably sense it. Maybe it was other of his abilities: to detect the scum of the human population.

Slowly, very slowly, he got up on his feet again. Kasumi hadn't noticed the damage on his knees and kept talking. "Don't you worry about that! But it's already getting a little late, we should finish shopping if we want to make it in time to prepare dinner, but you're welcome to join us if you want, Ryouga."

"Thanks, but I... I have to go somewhere else. I appreciate the offer though, maybe some other time." He declined, covering his knees further before turning around and making a run for it just like Shampoo did. He wasn't going to see Kasumi's face again after this. He knew Odie would make sure of it.

Said male lingered his gaze on him as Ryouga disappeared among the people, a mix of curiosity and a tiny bit of guilt coating his expression. His sister saw it and touched his arm to get his attention back to her. "Was that really necessary? Is not uncommon for young people to keep a few things for themselves. In fact we all do."

Odie nodded, and replied to her. _"You know I can't afford to take any risks if he's hiding something from us. You haven't seen him in a long time, so what could he have been up to? What if he's one of 'them'?"_

Kasumi smirked while checking her shopping list. "Well thank goodness I'm not the type that judges people based on that, because you do fit perfectly in that description." She answered.

 _"Touché,"_ Odie agreed, it was hypocritical in a way. _"but my secrets could kill you, Kasumi nee-san."_

"Even if that were true, you know we would never abandon you; not me nor our sisters, even less our dear Father."

Odie looked at her for a second and smiled, silently thanking her and the rest of the family for accepting him again before despite all the years apart and the complicated shenanigans. Gently, he looped her hand around his arm, escorting her back to the market so they could finish their task. 

There was something else, though. 

Beyond the evident fear, Odie did notice how the dark gloom that was clinging onto that boy's aura was far from healthy, and it worried him slightly. It was just like _that_ time with--. Hopefully he could clarify this entire situation with his younger sister when they got home, and it would probably coax her to talk to him again for her -supposedly- friend's sake.

* * *

It was already dark when Ryouga decided he should let his scraped knees rest and so, without even caring about the restaurant he got in, the boy sat at one of the tables and asked for a tea to calm the many emotions and negative thoughts surrounding his troubled brain. His soul felt numb. How could someone mess up that bad with just a few words? He gained one of the most dangerous enemies in the world, and all for what? For a girl who he kept on trying to make happy but didn't show the minimum interest in him. And why would she? He was a good for nothing, a school dropout and a failure in general. The desire to keep on living in this world was slowly slipping away from him like water through his fingers.

However. 

Even if his self-worth was dangerously close to nonexistent, he still needed to earn his right to stay by Akane's side, to see her bright smiles and hear her bubbly laughter once again. He had to do it _somehow_ , because this depression of his' would eat him alive otherwise. Screw the Guardians of the Western Mountains, he was going to train until his muscles burned with unbearable pain and his bones snapped. Nothing will keep him away from the person he loves the most!

When his tea came he thanked the waitress but never looked up, too busy while planning what to do next as he intertwined his fingers and rested his chin on them. He had a long way to go if he wanted to defeat a fighter of Odie's caliber without dying in the first try. It was hard to admit but if he hadn't been able to defeat Ranma once, then he would be as useful as his pig form-- a little bellow zero. He also didn't know a whole lot about the Guardians' fighting style nor the specialties they use during every combat, so studying was a priority. He could handle that. Next, he would need to train with someone that could teach him new tricks to win as well. His contemporaries were all strong on different degrees, but this tribe was something that could only be matched by someone who lived close to the time where they weren't such a myth.

But who could be that person? Ryouga was so concerned about this that he didn't pay attention to the waitress until she called for her manager who, after a few tries, got tired and bonked his head with a long staff.

"Hey! What the hell?!" He whined angrily.

"Piggy didn't listen, so Shampoo call Great-grandmother to help." The waitress -now just Shampoo- explained. "You'll pay for food and not run, right?" 

Ryouga nodded, still a little confused. 

"You certainly had your head somewhere else, sonny boy. It's been a while." The relic of a woman greeted. That's when he finally noticed he was in the Neko Hanten, Shampoo's great-grandmother's business. He really did walk far this time if he wasn't able to recall the route he took to get there (not that it would make any difference, he would get lost anyways).

"Oh, sorry. I was spacing out." Ryouga answered simply.

"Don't tell me something I already know about. Say, you're in quite a pitiful state right now. And where is your traveling equipment? It's rare to see you without it." The old woman inquired.

"Oh. I... I forgot how to get to the place where I left it." Ryouga said, trying to remember the place at all. Shampoo made a 'typical of you' face before returning to her duties.

"Well, you certainly can't sit at one of my tables looking like that or you'll scare all the clients off. Come with me to the back of the restaurant." The woman -Cologne, if he remembered correctly- instructed him while leading the way as Ryouga followed her silently. She crossed the kitchen doors and took a left where a red, Chinese design adorned door hid a set of stairs that directed them to a second story where their actual house was. Ryouga had never been there before so he marveled at the cosy looking home and how well styled everything was, with a Chinese motif in every little decoration of course.

Cologne opened a door that led to a very small, very stuffed room with lots of weapons in it. She then proceeded to inspect the drawers until she took out a shirt and some harem baggy pants that looked like they already belonged to someone. "Come here so I can treat your knees."

"Um, e-excuse me, isn't this Mousse's room by any chance? Isn't he going to be mad at me for using his stuff?"

The woman snorted. "As if he had any saying here. He went back to China a week ago to pay a visit to his mother and won't come back for another 2 weeks. Rest assured, you won't have to worry about him." She then proceeded to signal him to seat on a big couch and took a look at his injuries. "Really, I thought you were past the 'scraped knee' phase already." She sighed, cleaning the blood that dripped down his legs.

"Heh, me too. But this wasn't an accident." Ryouga clarified.

"A fight then? Who were you fighting this time?" The granny asked, taking any dirt or little rocks out of his injury. Although Ryouga wasn't really close to neither of the residents of this house (maybe a little closer to Mousse, but still) he wasn't really in the mood to put up a front to someone who could guess what happened with ease.

"A new opponent I believe nobody can defeat." The boy sighed. Cologne eyed him for a second but said nothing, allowing him to continue. "I... made a poor decision and lied to ~~something~~ someone who could probably read me like a book if he desired to do so. I wish I could've stopped myself, but apparently I needed to go and lose my marbles with him as well, challenging his already thin patience. That may have triggered the dude to pin me down on the concrete to sort of warn me off. I was just helping Akane with her surprise for a friend, but it seems everything went south because of me." The boy sighed.

"Hm... Well, it's obvious he feels strongly about Akane. Is he another of her suitors?"

"Nah, it's more complicated than that." He couldn't quite understand why he kept Odie's true identity a secret after everything that happened. He supposed it was because he was a Guardian, or maybe it was because he was Akane's brother, and Ryouga still wanted to be on this person's good side. "I couldn't do anything to defend myself, and paid a cost for keeping Akane's surprise hidden with a lie."

The old woman nodded as she applied some sort of oiment that burned like hell, effectively making him yelp. "OWW! That hurt, you old hag!"

"Be grateful I'm sharing my traditional remedies with you, stupid boy!" She reprimanded severely. Said stupid boy settled again and hissed everytime the strange substance made contact with his injury. "So this was all a big misunderstanding, right? I've spent enough time with you and the rest of the youngsters to know this is not uncommon between you kids, and whatever mishap you have is soon forgotten like it never happened. So really, why are you beating yourself so bad over something like this? What makes it special this time?"

"It's... I can't be near Akane or her family until I defeat him, and prove I'm worthy enough." Ryouga groaned. Cologne laughed slightly, covering his knees with gauze.

"That is indeed a motivation to settle things quickly. Staying away from the person you love is one of the hardest, if not impossible things to do in this life." She agreed in a condescending manner, probably thinking about Shampoo and her strong infatuation with Ranma. Maybe she saw what Ryouga felt for Akane in the same way? No, that's not it. He had true feelings towards her and everybody could see it. Maybe she was just remembering an event from her own younger years (a couple of centuries ago).

The Chinese woman tapped his thigh slightly to signal she had already bandaged his injures. "All done. Come down when you finish changing to eat some of my Special Noodles recipe. Today's on the house."

Ryouga couldn't believe his luck. "Really? Thank you, Grandma!" He cheered. The woman turned to see his cheerful face and smiled slightly, going back down to attend the people that were waiting for their food. Ryouga took a second to stare at the Cologne's handiwork before stripping off the yukata, carefully getting his legs inside the borrowed pants. He didn't know the old woman could be so generous and helpful, but he wasn't going to complain at all if that meant he got to be properly dressed instead of going half naked around the streets.

After a couple of minutes he came down to one of the tables that were near the kitchen, settling down on the chair as his food arrived. He could tell Shampoo wasn't too happy that he was in her home with borrowed clothes (she sure preferred Ranma being trapped in this situation instead) but delivered his food without complaints. Ryouga thanked her and started eating, his belly finally getting the promised food and whining with content.

"Why Great-grandmother help piggy? He taking free food and Mousse's clothes, maybe even peek Shampoo's room." She accused from the kitchen. Ouch.

"Settle down, my dear great-granddaughter. You have known each other for a while now and you can't even show a little of hospitality to him?" The woman reprimanded. "Now be a good girl and keep attending our dear customers, would you?"

"Hmph!" And so the girl left the kitchen once again. Ryouga didn't really mind this treatment as he got used to it with the time. What didn't settle down within him was precisely the fact that he had grown used to being treated like that; oh but when someone gave him the cold shoulder instead, it did infuriate the boy. Maybe this indicated he was an attention seeker deep inside? It did hurt him more when he was being ignored, so (More like he was touch starved. God, he was a pervert in every sense). 

Well, nevermind that right now. He had a bowl of delicious noodles to finish before it grew cold. The granny was looking at him intently as if trying to decide what to do with him next, but Ryouga wasn't looking forward to take advantage of the situation. He needed to train, study lots of information and regain his place in Akane's life ASAP, so might as well not lose anymore time. Once he was finished with his bowl, he took it personally to the kitchen.

"Thank you very much for the food and... for listening to me. I must go to start my training, so if you'll excuse me. I promise I'll bring you a gift of gratitude next time we see each other." The boy said, bowing respectfully to the woman before turning away.

"Oh ho ho, you don't think I did this out of mere kindness, right Ryouga? After all, I haven't helped you with your main problem yet." She smirked.

That made him stop dead on his tracks, suddenly getting a bad feeling about it. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that I want to help you defeat this 'insanely strong' opponent of yours. And who knows, maybe you can become the first person to ever defeat a member of the most ancient and honored tribe that ever existed." She said in a conspiratorial manner. "Well, maybe after the millionth try, but still."

A heartbeat.

Two.

Ryouga couldn't even speak. Now he truly managed to mess up big time.

"Y-You--"

"Hush now, the restaurant is still full and even the walls could be listening to everything we say. We'll discuss this after we close the Café. In the meantime, take another bowl and extra dumplings with you to the table, sonny boy." The woman instructed him again while she put the dishes on his hand. Ryouga did as told mechanically. His mind started rushing but every movement seemed to slow down, feeling like he was nowhere and sprawled everywhere in this dimensional plane at the same time, all while his thoughts were making too much sound but he wasn't really thinking about anything in concrete. The food tasted like bland porridge in his mouth with every bite he took out of the plate, and he tried not to spit it back out because of the knot in his stomach. 

His vision was beginning to fade after a slight tingling sensation took over his limbs.

_He was careless enough to expose a lengenday Guardian to one of the most lethal people in the world._

Sweet, he needed something sweet.

He took a bite of the dumpling and was instantly hit with the sweetness of the meat inside that almost made him moan in relief. Was he having a panic attack? This day sure was having a heavy turn on him. Shampoo appeared with a Melon soda and put it on the table close to his right hand. "If piggy faints, customers will think it is food poison."

She tried to pass it like it was nothing, but Ryouga appreciated the gesture nonetheless. "Thank you." He mumbled. The boy chugged the whole thing down and felt gradually better. What was the old ghoul planning now? To take more information out of him, take revenge on the Guardians for some reason, or even blackmail Odie to take her where the Guardians were currently living at? Ryouga could only guess at this point.

The minutes turned into hours and the hours felt like days, destroying Ryouga's already faint pulse into a pulp under the sheer pressure of not knowing what was gonna happen next. He only needed that last customer to get the hell out before he exploded into a million pieces all over the damned place. Probably his intentions were a bit too obvious since said person was squirming under his pointedly hard glare, but that was honestly the last thing he cared about right now.

After paying for their meal and leaving the place, Ryouga stood up and crossed the kitchen door to confront the granny.

"Oh, such an impatient boy, I thought you were going to die for a moment there." The hag mocked.

"I don't know what you'll obtain out of all this, but whatever you're planning--"

"And what would you do if I wanted something out of this, Ryouga? Just one bucket of cold water is enough to leave you unsuitable for combat." She warned. "Stepping on my way could bring you serious consequences." Please tell him she didn't just said that. No ma'am. Now you've done it.

"Okay first of all, go rot in a ditch somewhere. Second of all, my pig form does not alter the person I really am so I'll fight with all my might to stop you from ruining my Akane's happiness if that's what it comes to be!" Ryouga spat. The air was getting tense in the tight space as the animosity between them was growing bigger with every passing second.

"What is happened, Great-grandmother?!" Shampoo asked, ready to meddle in the fight at any second. But the grandma, on the contrary, was as cool as a damn cucumber while provoking the boy.

"I see you've also developed quite an atitude during these past months. Then tell me, why are you defending not only someone who you just met but someone that humiliated and defeated you a couple of hours ago? It sure isn't mere altruism what impelled you to talk back to me."

"Don't question my motives, you decrepit old hag! He-- the whole family had been waiting for his return during more than ten years, and I cannot be the reason Akane's heart gets crushed if something ever happens to him, I just want--"

"Ah so you want something he has."

"I ALSO WANT TO STAY BY THE TENDOUS' SIDE!" Ryouga confessed at the top of his lungs. He didn't think saying it out loud (or rather screaming it) would be so hard, but the intense blush on his face and trembling body were the ones who really spoke louder than his voice ever did. Speaking of which, it seemed like his vocal chords were growing thinner with embarrassment the more he tried to explain himself.

"If-- If I do something to him -if I allow him to push me away like this-, either way, I won't have a chance to-- to stay with them ever again. I like-- no, they're my second family and I appreciate each and every single one of the Tendou members (the ones I already knew up to now, that is). A-at least that's how I feel."

The experienced old woman studied his face for a second before smoothing her features into something Ryouga had never seen her doing before, but apparently she found confirmation of something somewhere in his face. She sighed and walked towards the second story and into their home once again, light steps marking the path of her ultimate decision.

"Shampoo, be a dear and bring us some tea. This will sure be a long conversation. I can assure you, young man, that you and I will see more of each other on the next month or so."

Ryouga couldn't, or rather didn't want to believe her at all, but something deep inside told him there was no turning back from this now, not when he just spilled his guts in front of the woman just a second ago. If he wanted to settle things down and make sure it wouldn't have a negative repercussion for the Tendou family, he had to stay and come to an arrangement. To her merit, Shampoo simply nodded and did as told back in the kitchen without asking anymore questions. The boy followed the old woman again to their living room before settling on the couch, as far away from the granny's spot -an old but comfy looking armchair decorated with an embodied dragon in the back- as physically possible.

She settled in said armchair and stared at him, pointedly judging the distance between them. "You don't have to look like a caged animal, Ryouga. You can leave at any moment." When she saw it wasn't making him feel any better, she simply kept on with her explanation. "I do have my personal motives for helping you defeat this Guardian, that is true. But believe me they're far away from being a shady business as you're probably thinking."

Ryouga squinted his eyes, suspicious about the sudden heart to heart. "That still doesn't convince me to trust you or your intentions." But Cologne merely giggled.

"To be honest, I was also reluctant of believing you and the reasons behind your decision of comforting this man, but the sincerity of your feelings proved to be the best guarantee I could obtain." The boy couldn't decide if he could trust her completely yet, but he supposed the woman was not the malicious type to take advantage of something like this (Happosai was already occupying that position), after all, she valued traditions and the importance of maintaining ancient secrets as safe as possible from people who could use them in a wrong way (again, people like Happosai). Shampoo came in with the tea and settled everything in the coffee table in the middle of the room, taking the chair next to her great-grandmother.

"So weirdo is legendary Guardian after all?" Shampoo inquired.

"Hmmm, what I can't quite figure out is what type of connection does he have with the Tendou household, unless..."

"He's Mr. Tendou's only son." Ryouga confirmed. He guessed it couldn't hurt to give the little details he had if the woman had found out about the crucial ones already.

"This explains a lot more, yes." She reasoned.

"So Ranma don't marry Akane no more because her brother come back!" the cute girl squealed.

"Not so fast, my dear. Guardians study and train an innumerable quantity of information on different topics like nobody else in this planet; they're a selected group carefully hand-picked from all over the world. And so, leaving everything else behind in order to accomplish their duties accordingly is a must. That also means he had to give up his inheritance of the Dojo and pass it on to one of his sisters, am I correct?"

"... Yes." Well, now he knew she probably was aware of their existence waaaaaay long before he was even born.

"How come piggy knows?"

"Precisely because I was in my pig form and listened to every word coming from Mr. Tendou's mouth as he explained it to Ranma. It was... tough."

"No doubt it was." Cologne sighed. "Normally, once the person receives the Guardian title they aren't allowed to leave the tribe ever again unless they're in a mission. I've heard a story about one of the Amazonian women becoming a Guardian once when I was just a little girl," Yup, 'Centuries Before Ryouga was Born' theory confirmed. "but eventually, even she became a forgotten legend among our own people to the point it was thought she had died instead. I'm curious about what could have happened with this boy in particular to be able to come back so early in his years of intense training." She pondered.

"I don't know the reason behind his return, but... you should have seen them." Ryouga sighed longingly. "They were all... so happy. He's loved, and he loves them all just as much if not even more. I... I wanted that, I wanted to feel loved. But now it's impossible." The boy deflated.

"Hmm..." The old woman finished her tea. "It's true his condition here is uncommon if not very suspicious. So I'll propose something to you, Ryouga." She announced. "I'll train you to defeat-- no, at the very least put up a good front against the Guardian on the battlefield. I can't make any promises that this will turn out the way you want since not even I know for certain what their true techniques are nor what are the limits of their strength, if they have any, that is. But if you prove yourself and get to be in good terms with him, you'll also be worthy in his eyes to court Akane properly, which would mean Shampoo gets to stay with the Son-in-law without any predicaments."

"Won't Shampoo get Guardian to like her instead?" Shampoo asked.

"Now now, don't be so presumptuous my beautiful child. Earning a Guardian's heart isn't easy by any means, since you'll be competing against the title and honor they've worked so hard to achieve. Could you imagine someone like that leaving everything behind for a mere infatuation? Please, Shampoo."

"Hmph! Shampoo's worth it."

"He did come back for his family, tho." Ryouga interrupted.

"That's a different situation that I'll have to investigate a little further later on. In the meantime, do you accept my offer?" The woman offered.

This was it. The answer to all his current problems and his only chance to be near the family again. Not even Shampoo could believe her great-grandmother was offering to traim someone in such a serious note against one of the strongest people in the world. Her dumbfounded and equally annoyed face made the offer sound even more serious than before.

Although he knew he truly had a very low chance at this, the training would absolutely benefit him in many ways to finally improve his fighting style. Even if he doesn't win, Ryouga wants to be a fine opponent for the Guardian with all his heart and power. Come to think of it, being positive about this situation might be a good change for once in his life, right?

"Granny, I would very much like you to train me, whatever it takes." He announces with resolve. "And who knows, maybe I can defeat not the Guardian title he may own but the Tendou's son for what he is specifically. After all, he probably didn't take his training to completion."

Cologne laughs in a good-natured manner; the seriousness this boy displays even without knowing anything yet had always amused her old heart.

"Interesting approach. It's still a rather surreal aim, but you could be right and have a chance with this new point of view. Alright, we'll start at dawn. From this second on, you're officially my full-time pupil. Do NOT waste my time and disappoint me, kiddo, or you'll have more to worry about than just a scraped knee. Understood?"

Ryouga furrowed his brows with a resolve already set in his mind. No turning back.

"Yes ma'am!"

And so it began.

* * *

Waking up early was something Ryouga was used to do and it didn't bother him as it should. In fact, he felt he had more time during the day for whatever activity he had planned on doing. What he didn't like though was the loud and obnoxious sound of the freaking GONG right next to his ear acting as his alarm.

"Rise and shine, sonny boy! We have a full day ahead of us and the schedule is pretty tight."

Sweet lord, he didn't know Cologne's voice could be even more obnoxious than the Gong itself. Either way he got up without any complaints and joined Shampoo and the granny at the table for breakfast. Last night they agreed that Ryouga should reside with the Chinese women during his training, given his new status as Cologne's new pupil. Of course, it was under the condition that Ryouga respected Shampoo's room and didn't try any funny business with her (HA! As if. Besides, she knows how to defend herself just fine but whatever.) and helped around the Café as a part time job to cover his food and basic services' expenses during his stay.

"Make sure to eat those carbs and proteins, you'll need all the energy you can get for the following lessons." The old woman instructed. Ryouga nodded and served himself another sunny side up egg along with a couple more of slices of fresh bread. You could complain about the multiple flaws and bizzare behaviors the two amazonian women brought all the way from China, but their cooking deserved all the respect and appreciation it rightfully earned. You simply could not eat only one portion. 

Shampoo was still a little irked to have him around and honestly Ryouga couldn't blame her. In her culture, the men were treated as the fragile wife unless he was either the love interest or had already defeated an Amazonian. Since the boy had accomplished none of those two, maybe it was difficult for her to treat him as an equal in this situation. Either way she would have to suck it up because Cologne gave strict instructions about the household's new boundaries and interactions from now on, and Shampoo knew better than to disobey her great-grandmother.

But that didn't mean she had to pretend she liked it.

And neither did Ryouga.

"Thank you for the meal, it was delicious." He thanked and took the plates to the sink, washing them according to the established house rules.

Just when the sun was starting to illuminate the mountains both Cologne and the boy headed outside to a relatively discreet park that had a very open space to train.

"Listen up, Ryouga. The things I'm about to teach you are dangerous and should be used correctly from day one to avoid a permanent damage to your body, so pay attention to everything I do, am I clear?"

"As crystal, ma'am."

"Hmm, good." The woman stated. "Then, let's start today's lesson, shall we?"

"Yes!"

...

The truth is, it hasn't even been three days of training and he already felt like his body was going to give up on him anytime now.

He honestly thought he was going learn a new top-secret technique, but everything he'd been doing up to that moment were those ridiculously difficult stretching exercises that made his body ache in places he never knew he had before. Ryouga believed he had a flexible body but this training was coming off more brutal than what he initially expected. So there he was on top of the lake's railing, supporting his whole body with only his arms in a handstand position as he balanced a huge boulder on each stretched leg that made him form a split with a perfect angle of 180°, also maintaining a perfectly straight back and keeping his head looking to the front. Because he wasn't allowed to touch the metal with any other body parts that weren't his palms, this position proved to be extremely awkward and painful to the point he could hear his muscles cry out in pain. At least he was holding it more than two minutes after the hundredth try.

"Stop whining and focus, kiddo! You really thought I would be irresponsible and teach you any new techniques without preparing you first? You fool!" The old ghoul screamed from the top of one of the rocks, effectively unbalancing everything out.

"W-what the hell *wheezes* is it with y-you and th-- this ridiculous position--" He couldn't breathe properly. "Y-- you're go-gonna break my back--"

"Where do you think your opponent trained at! A gym?! He's a survivalist of the finest quality and an expert hunter, capable of holding an extremely painful position during 24 hours or more if needed to successfully pursue his target."

Ryouga didn't exactly know why, but that sounded like a very handy endurance skill to have in various other _situations_... alright, maybe his mind was starting to rip apart along with his tendons and he wasn't thinking strai--... yeah, definitely ripping apart.

"I-I won't need to--"

"This exercise is specially made to build up flexible yet enduring muscles that will be capable of resisting any kind of stretch and give a good punch at the same time. If the Tendou boy is capable of doing such a thing, then so will you in order to survive a close encounter with his physical capabilities!"

The grandma hopped off of the boulder, throwing Ryouga's balance off again. He tried to move his legs to regain some control, but his back tensed painfully and he knew his arms couldn't hold the abuse he was putting in them any longer. As a reflex out of pure instinct, he threw both rocks away on either side of his body; one fell on the ground and the other one sank in the lake. And just a second after that his arms gave up, making him faceplant the metal bar and fall (thankfully) on the dry side. With all the strength his legs had left, he hurried to a nearby trash can and emptied his stomach contents.

Cologne sighed exasperated and hit him in the head with her wooden staff as soon as he stopped pucking his insides. "You stupid boy! At this rate you will never be able to defeat him! I warned you not to waste my time!"

Ryouga on the other hand couldn't even speak, feeling his whole body aching and pounding with immense pain. He could only turn his head enough to look at the old woman with what one would describe as a 'pathetic dying stare'.

Cologne then spoke again. "Alright. You may rest for 10 minutes but that's it. I'll bring a soda for you." She hit him one more time in the head and took off towards a bending machine.

Ryouga thought it was the perfect chance to lay down and die before a different voice called to him again.

"Dude, what the hell happened, Ryouga?! What was that just now?"

Ranma.

Said boy rushed towards him with a lot of shopping bags in his hands and lifted him up, throwing one of Ryouga's arms over his shoulders while he lifted the pained boy by the waist, circling his own arm around him. When Ranma got him to rest in a sitting position under a nearby tree, he kneeled in front of him to check the true state he was in.

"Jeez, that ain't pretty." Ranma hissed in empathy when he saw the bloody nose Ryouga was sporting. "Just what were you and the old ghoul doing a moment ago?"

Ryouga was still dazed and a second away from passing out, but found the strength within him to speak. "Training... I'm-- her new pupil..."

"What! That hag actually took you as her formal pupil?! Well damn, good luck with that." He said, sitting next to Ryouga and chatting away to keep him awake. "Thanks, by the way. Odie was vibrating with excitement when he saw the cheesecake, which didn't turn out to be a complete disaster. Thanks heavens for that." Ranma laughed.

"Das'good." He was oh so tired, he didn't need this crap right now.

"He... also talked to us about you." Ranma said with-- was that _guilt_? "Apparently he crossed paths with you and his superhuman abilities caught you lying for our sake. I'm sorry about that."

Ryouga sighed with a mixture of exasperation and pain. "Don't mind, I'll prove myself."

"Wait, you don't need to do that! We explained everything, including the plan. Now he knows you lied to keep Akane's surprise a secret."

And he knew, okay. He knew Odie would bring the subject and he knew Ranma would explain the situation to the Guardian, defending his childhood friend of any misconceptions (omitting the piggy part, of course), but the other boy wasn't there that afternoon to understand why Ryouga needed to do this. "Still, I will earn my place back. That's why I'm training with the granny."

"You TOLD the ghoul about him?!" Ranma was offended as if the entire thing was about himself.

" 'Course not. Your Chinese sweetheart, however, literally ran into him and told her great-grandmother everything about the 'incident'. That's how she came to figure out who he was."

"My-- you mean Shampoo?" Ranma groaned. "Great, as if she didn't make my life any more problematic than it already is with her mere presence, now she also has to go and tell the evil hag about this."

The silence that followed was not a tense one, but a pause to let everything sink in and process the information. Ryouga cleaned his nose and massaged his aching muscles, effectively drawing the other boy's attention.

" So... That means the old ghoul knows how to defeat a Guardian?"

"Not exactly. She knows about lots of stories, and kind of learned certain behaviors he * _may_ * have due to the place they * _may_ * train at by her own, but everything comes down to speculations. I just want to prove him I am worthy of being there, by the family's side."

Ranma stared at him, thinking seriously about what should he say next.

"You really like 'em, huh? Akane's family, I mean."

Ryouga suddenly felt oddly self conscious about what he just said, and tried to take it back. "Ranma I--"

It's OK, don't sweat it." He interrupted. "All in all, I guess having their weird antics around makes you feel like part of something, right?" Right. Both boys grew up traveling and never really got the chance to settle down with a family environment during all those years. So even if now he got to live with his mom again, Ranma could understand better than anyone else. "You know I can't tell you what we talked about yesterday after they got back home because you weren't there that time to hear 'by accident'. But I'll tell you this: if you're going to challenge him to earn his approval, you should tell him what your intentions are. Otherwise this could end up real bad."

Oh. Yeah, he's right. This 'epic' battle was something that Ryouga planned all by himself, and the guy wouldn't really know what was all about when the time came around. That would be considered bullying instead of a formal duel.

"I... I forgot about that."

Ranma laughed at the top of his lungs, effectively startling the obvious boy next to him. "Ha ha ha!! Of course you did, ha ha! You can't even remember the way back to your own house! Ha ha ha!"

Ryouga's cheeks turned pink with the rude accusation (which was the sad true) and looked away from him mildly annoyed.

"Tsk, if I didn't feel like my limbs were exploding from inside out, I'd totally beat the crap out of you."

"This is hilarious, ha ha ha!" Ranma exclaimed. It took him two whole minutes to stop mocking Ryouga and finally calm down. "For real though. Are you going to try and fight him? Maybe I should tell that relic of a woman to teach me too." The boy contemplated. Ryouga could only snort in response to that. "What? Don't believe I'm skillful enough? I have to remind you that so far, you haven't been able to win a battle against me without the help of any weird curse like the awful belly drawing one."

Ah, there was the Ranma he knew and hated so much.

"Could you turn your ego down for a second already? I swear to God that I will never understand what the girls see in you." Ryouga growled. "All I'm saying is that you should be more careful with her. From what I know, she will most likely try to set you up with some trick to get you and Shampoo together in exchange, and that always makes Akane mad."

Ranma huffs but adds nothing to that.

"Anyways, I think you could talk to him today. How about we meet at U-chan's?"

Ryouga thought about it for a few moments. It's true he wouldn't be able to find the Guardian by his own devices, and a letter is a little impersonal given the unique circumstances.

"It's just..."

"Don't worry about how you're going to get to her place, I can pick you up after I leave Odie with U-chan."

"You're being awfully nice. Almost out of character." Ryouga said, squinting his eyes suspiciously.

Ranma merely shrugged and laid on the grass with his arms crossed behind his head, looking at the morning sky slowly shift colors to a bluer hue. "I told you, there's a lot you don't know about. Also," Ranma cleared his throat awkwardly, "I l-liked our hang out yesterday. So maybe I thought w-we could repeat it. No fights, no rivalry, just... hanging out."

And Ryouga couldn't lie. He liked the idea as well.

"I-I mean, we could-- totally do that if you promise not being a jerk all the time."

"What you mean I'm a jerk, you stupid pig?"

Ryouga arched an eyebrow. He couldn't be more unamused.

The gesture helped Ranma's thick skull take a hint. "Ah. Ok fine, I'll try."

"Talking about pigs 'n' stuff, does he know about your transformation?"

Ranma turned red at the question. "N-no, I haven't had the chance to tell him. I was thinking about doing it after we came back from eating but-- God, this is so embarrassing! What would a legendary Guardian think if he found out that his potential replacement turns into a chick everytime my body touches the cold water?" He groaned in shame.

Ryouga shrugged and spoke sincerely. "I don't know what will you decide, but after what I saw and experienced yesterday I can tell you he's gonna find out anyways."

Ranma stared at him, thinking about it for a minute. Then he exhaled profusely, probably understanding what he needed to do.

"I'll pick you up at Neko Hanten in three hours. Be punctual and wait for me outside so Shampoo doesn't get to know I came by, alright? I swear to God, the girls make it all so much more complicated."

"Sure." Ryouga said. Ranma nodded and stood up, shaking the dust off of his clothes before lifting the shopping bags. "Hey."

Ranma turned around to face him.

"Thank you."

"Eh, it's whatever. See you then." That's what he said but, Ryouga could see his pink dusted cheeks and knew Ranma could be easily tamed when you were nice to him. What a weird but predictable guy.

Cologne came back with a soda in hand a couple of minutes after, checking on his physical condition while he chugged the drink down.

"Prepare, we'll resume our training after this."

Not even a pip came out of Ryouga's mouth because he was the one who agreed to endure this.

And Cologne didn't address Ranma's visit because she was curious to see how thing would develop.

And back to training it was.

* * *

When they made it back to the Café, Ryouga couldn't distinguish the floor from the sky nor his hand from his foot. He believed the pain he was experiencing was to be compared with the one a person would feel seconds before dying after a whole day of extreme torture. So without even thinking, he lowered himself to the tiled floor and whimpered in relief when the cool surface touched his impossibly abused muscles. Shampoo seemed like she wanted to mock him for being so weak, but a hard stare from her great-grandma put her in place. Cologne got down of her staff and checked his body temperature and injuries.

"Nothing too preoccupying. If I tell you the truth, I am very impressed by your endurance, sonny boy." She said somewhat affectionately. "No one should be able to resist as much as you did on your first day. But don't get any fake illusions out of it. Tomorrow we'll do it again and I hope you had improved by then. Now go rest for the day. I think you will need it."

"But Great-grandmother, you said piggy help Café in afternoons!" The old woman herself was already cranky enough to put up with her great-granddaughter's attitude.

"Shampoo, we'll give him a free afternoon today and you will not pester him unless he comes out of his room to ask for food, am I clear?"

"... Yes Great-grandmother."

"Good. Go rest, boy. If you need anything just call me."

And with that, his new master retreated to the kitchen to start with the Café business for today. Ryouga tried to stand up as fast as he could and used the furniture as a support to get to his room upstairs. Damn, his limbs hurt so bad. It felt like his muscles were being stretched in that hook the chefs at the candy stores used, and then inserted a thousand needles in each and every damn nerve he had left. The worst part though? * _The crotch._ * He calculated he wasn't going to be able to sit properly without whimpering first during a while. But he couldn't allow himself to let the whole extent of his ache overwhelm his senses; he had to settle things properly with the Guardian.

So with this new resolution (the bit that remained), he got into the bathroom and indulged himself to use the tub, which turned out to be a great idea because it felt. So. GOOD. The warm liquid caressed his skin smoothly, dissolving the pain into something a bit more bearable like a workout after a stressful day.

He took a moment to think what was he supposed to say to Akane's brother once they meet again. Being honest, Ryouga was not that excited about going to this reunion in particular, specially after getting a little taste of what Odie's capable of. Maybe a written challenge was the best after all? Nah, that dude was straightforward and would expect the same from Ryouga. Also, showing up with a petulant or aggressive aura wasn't gonna intimidate nor make Odie back down either. It rather seemed like the Guardian took on the other person's vibes and channeled them through his own feelings, effectively making him twice as mad. Could that be called empathy?

No. The best option was to treat him like the eminence he was and bow first. Then, if the Guardian decided not to rip his head on the spot, he would challenge him properly. Ryouga still wandered why was Ranma so insistent with giving an explanation about the motives behind the challenge. There was so much to unravel about this Odie character, that Ryouga couldn't help feeling oddly attracted to his strength and mysterious demeanor. Fighting him would be a dangerously interesting task to perform.

After a few moments self-coaxing and inducing a shot of self-resolve in his dizzy brain, he got out of the glorious comfort zone and got ready to meet his opponent. Not longer after that, he was climbing down through his window and was waiting somewhat patiently for Ranma to arrive.

"Yo!"

"Took you long enough." Ryouga pointed out.

"I know, U-Chan was being clingy and interrogating me about Odie, so I had to tell her to serve him the food already while I picked you up. You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." He admitted. Okay, breathe in, breathe out. Ranma was staring at him kinda curiously.

"You know you don't need to do this, right? Odie already for-"

"No," Ryouga interrupted. He couldn't know for certain if the older male said that just to reassure Akane or if he really meant it. "I have to."

"Ok, ok. Let's go then."

The silence that fell between them was a little tense but not uncomfortable. The streets were mildly empty but there was a relaxing vibe around the neighborhood that calmed him down significantly. The different smells of fresh flowers and homemade cooking coming from the gardens and balconies made him look up to the clear sky and actually relax. A gentle breeze refreshed the ambiance and made Ryouga's steps feel lighter; was it always like this around here? A small smile that escaped his lips told him it wasn't precisely the place but a sensation within himself. HE was the one who felt good. Was it because of the little bonding time he and Ranma had? Or maybe it was Cologne and her small displays of interest for his well-being? Or was it the fact that he was a step closer to finally be with the Tendous again? Possibly a mix of them all.

That, or he was actually dying.

Whatever it was, it gave the boy a rush of determination with a dash of clearance, enough to finally figure out what was he gonna say to Akane's big brother. They took a right and made it to Ukyou's place, the Noren fabric adorning the entrance in a welcoming manner. Ranma looked over his shoulder to check on him, to what Ryouga just nodded slightly before entering the cozy little restaurant. There wasn't any clients around besides one guy, a very big male with broad shoulders that stretched the white shirt he sported, probably the reason why he had a faded denim jacked pooled at the length of his elbows. He was wearing a bluejeans that wrapped his small waist and meaty legs perfectly, completing the look with a pair of pristine white sneakers. Ryouga had to admit the guy was totally rocking the style and looked _smoking hot_. So much even, that Ryouga almost didn't see it.

The hooded mask. The anklets.

The * _bodychain_ * visible through the mercilessly stretched white fabric.

Odie.

_'Oh God, was he ogling Akane's brother?'_

"I know right? Who would've thought he had a fashion sense after training in a secluded region during years?" Ranma offered before patting his shoulder twice and entering the small area. 'I understand how you feel' was what he meant.

Ukyou's voice broke through his confused thoughts, welcoming him. "Oh hi, Ryouga! Are you guys having a manly hang out or something?" She asked, though the chef soon lost interest when Ranma sat down in front of her to order his food. Another pair of eyes, however, -well, a pair of light dots- were focusing entirely on him.

**_The thing that resides in the dark._ **

No turning back now.


End file.
